Cleat



'0. F. ADAM. GLE'ATL No. 575 090. Patented Jan. 1 1897.

mum' Mum UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARL r. ADAM, or TRENTON, NEW JEEsEv.

CLEAT.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 575,090, dated January 12, 1897.

Application filed May 11, 1896.

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that l, CARL F. ADAM, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to cleats, insulators, and other devices used for supporting electric wires.

The object of the invention is to construct a cleat which will be simple and cheap in construction and will firmly hold the wire without danger of the wire working loose by its vibrations or danger of the insulation of the wire becoming cut.

The invention is applicable for use in any device for supporting electric wires; but for the sake of brevity I use the term cleat herein to designate all such devices.

The invention is also applicable to a cleat made of any material, although in practice I usually construct them of porcelain or anal ogous material.

The invention will be more particularly described With reference to the forms shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, showing my improved cleat. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the parts. Figs. 3, 3*, and 3 are plan and side views showing the formation of the ridges; and Figs. t and 4 are plan views of a modification.

The body of the cleat is preferably constructed in two parts A A, each of which contains a groove crossing the cleat near each end thereof, the grooves being represented in the drawings by the reference-letters a to. These grooves are adapted to receive the wire to be held in the cleat, and formerly had their surfaces smooth; but with this construction the wire would slip up and down and the cleat was unable to properly hold the same. It has also been attempted to hold the wire by using a V-shaped notch instead of a groove, the inner surface of the notch being corrugated by means of ridges parallel to the cleat and at right angles to the wire; but this construction is unsatisfactory for the reason that the ridges necessarily cut into the insulation, and by reason of the rectangular position with re- Serial No. 591,168. (No model.)

spect to the wire the insulation is scraped from the wire. Further than this, owing to the sharpness of the V-shaped notch, a space is left in the bottom thereof, in which the insulation is crowded, thereby giving to the cleat the power of scraping away the insulation and providing a storage-place for the insulation scraped away, thereby facilitating the scraping off of the insulation.

According to my invention, I use a semicircular groove, as shown in the drawings, and in this groove I construct teats or ridges a, which are placed at an angle to the wire and to the direction of the cleat. \Vith this construction it is impossible to pull the wire in any direction Without the same being caught by the projecting ends of one side of the line of teats, and by reason of the fact that the line of teats is slanting with respect to the wire there is less danger of the insulation being scraped from the wire.

In Fig. 2 a central teat or ridge a extends along the center of the groove parallel there-' to, and the slanting teats are each broken by this central teat, the slanting teats being preferably continued after being broken by the central teat in the same direction, but from a point slightly to one side of the point of the break In Fig. 4 is shown a modification of the cleat above described, which consists in transverse teats a and the slanting teats a crossing each other intermediate the transverse teats. This construction utilizes the slanting feature of the teats, but is not as efficient as the con struction already described, owing to the transverse location of the teats (o but in this construction it will be noted that the upper edges of the teats are in a plane parallel with the face of the cleat, thereby reducing the amount of open space presented to the wire when clamped by the cleat. It will be obvious that any number of grooves may be cut in the cleats, my invention being applicable to any number of grooves, the number being varied to suit the work for which the cleat is to be used. Furthermore, it will appear that,

although a semicircular groove has been shown in the drawings, the precise shape of the groove is not a material feature, so long as it be provided with the teats, as described.

It will be seen that the cleats above described will hold the wire firmly and without danger of the insulation thereon being scratched or scraped away.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A eleat having a groove for the reception of the wire, said groove being provided with teats placed at an angle to the direction of the groove and to the wire, substantially as described.

2. A eleat having a groove for the reception of the wire, and teats in said groove, said teats being placed at an angle to the line of direction of the groove and being crossed by other teats located in said groove 3. A cleat having a groove for the reception of the wire, a tea-t in said groove extending parallel to the direction thereof, and parallel rows of other teats intersecting said firstnalned teat and being placed at an angle to the line of direction oi the groove, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

l. A cleat having a groove for the reception of the wire, a teat running along the middle thereof in the direction 013' the groove, and a plurality of teats extending from said central teat to the sides of the groove, said last-named teats being parallel to each other, but intersecting the central teat at different points in said central teat, si'ibstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

("Alftli l1. ADAM.

\Vitnesses:

t. M. lioizniuli, JAMES J. CAHILL. 

